Jim Harbaugh spoke on KNBR Wednesday morning. Here’s what he said about Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers quarterback controversy.
Q: Is Alex Smith cleared to play contact football yet?
HARBAUGH: It looks like he will be before the week is out, but not as of right now. I’m sure he will be.
Q: You would presume that he would be eligible…
HARBAUGH: It’s all in the doctors’ hands. I’m not Doctor Harbaugh. For me to start talking symptoms and medical jargon, it doesn’t even ring true to me. I leave that in the doctors’ hands completely. That’s the best thing for everybody.
Q: After the game, (Grant Cohn) asked you if Colin Kaepernick is your quarterback going forward, and you said you have two quarterbacks with hot hands. Did you leave the door open for a quarterback controversy purposefully? Do you regret leaving the door open?
HARBAUGH: I believe we have the opposite of a controversy. A controversy is an argument between opposing points of view. This is coming at it from a team point of view. And do we have two good quarterbacks, two winning quarterbacks, two quarterbacks with a hot hand? Yes we do. So we’ll make the decision and let you know in a timely fashion.
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Thank you Baalke & Harbaugh for making the Niners not only relevant, but a true SB contender. Do what you feel is best to help the team win.
So we’ll make the decision and let you know in a timely fashion.
And by “timely,” I mean “after the Saints have had to spend time preparing for both QBs.”
That was a point that I have been trying to make yesterday. This all could be a ruse and I would not put it passt JH. Crafty like a fox.
Bingo!!!!! . This guy is hilarious.
I love this coach.
Kaepernick is playing- and if he keeps it up, he will be the QB the rest of the season.
The locker room knows whats up- they have eyes like the rest of us. Kaep makes this offense great.
Kaepernick WILL have a drop-off. That’s what a lot of people don’t seem to take into consideration. If he doesn’t, then we’re talking about all-time record for passer rating. He was exciting to watch, but no one mentions how he was hardly pressured the entire night.
Maybe because you’re the ONLY one focusing on the negative. Which is for losers. The 49ers are trying to be champions. Harbaugh must feel that it is possible, as he seems to trust Kaepernick. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
Harbaugh has apparently considered carrying his own bag for the AT and T this year. He’s really pissing Alex and the Smithers off.
It’s amazing how Harbaugh won’t say this is Alex Smiths job when he is cleared to play. Apparently, it’s not Smiths job when he is clear to play. Bye bye Alex and the Smithers!
I guess the Smithers feel that Alex is being abused. Just the thought of Harbaugh not coming out saying the job is Smiths should tell you what he thinks about Alex as the starter. He drafted Kap. He “evaluated ” Manning. He gave Smith a 1 year deal that was disguised as a 3 year deal. Now he won’t say that Alex is his guy anymore.
I guess Alex Smith really has turned out to be the next Wally Pip. I’m thinking Wally Smith instead of Alex Pip?!? What are you guys thinking. After all, Gladys Knight had the Pips. Alex doesn’t strike me as a Pip. Takes him too long to find his rhythm!
I’m just glad we have viable options and our coaches make other coaches look clueless most of the time. It’s a GREAT ‘problem’ to have. Every Niner fan should be fired up with the possibilties that lie before us!
JH is awesome, exposing sensationalism on a weekly basis. I am so glad he isn’t like the rest of the white bread, give them what they want HC around the league. He is an individual thinker and is appreciated by the whole team for being that way.
Where do you think us Smithers are going? Unlike you we will be here supporting and rooting for whomever is under centre. No one is going anywhere. Sorry to disappoint you. I was the biggest Drubkenmiller fan when we drafted him.
You are just a negative guy and pessimistic fan. Will you support Smith if he gets the start?
Hofer is heading to Jacksonville with Alex. BS is headed back to Mars. Prime is too dumb to leave. He’ll just continue his backpedal. He’s a scumbag welcher with 9 screen names. Hey axel onenimer prime foley Latino!
23 welcher, no one back pedals better than you and for you to call anyone a welcher, well, that is the biggest joke I have ever heard. Lets see who the real fans are after coach names a starter. Will you be happy or just bitter and angry? Cant wait to see.
23 pop off, I will never leave. You said Kap would never play, that your boy JJ was gonna win the job. Now who is the idiot?
Jordo, quit projecting. Of all those named only YOUR SORRY @SS (ooh look CAPS, I must be right) is the one that was going to take a hike. That you are still here is testament to your two-faced personality.
Hey Smithers, when is the funeral?? Lol! Bwahahahahahahaha!
All of us are in the dark. No one knows. I do know this, I want my Niners to win this weekend. I want to be the number one seed again so that I can go to the games.
Interesting that Grant put out a poll asking if Kaepernick should be the starting QB. Almost 300 votes and Kaepernick has the slight edge.
I want the seed too! The old ‘stick needs as many more playoff games as possible as a tribute to it’s legacy.
>>Almost 300 votes and Kaepernick has the slight edge.
Better revisit those poll numbers, bay. The results from Cuyahoga county are starting to trickle in.
The question is how many times is J23 and bs voting to cancel each other out. Lol
@ ninermd:
Nice.
Hey, I tried voting early and often but the system wouldn’t let me.
Grant, get your IT guy on the presidential voting systems staff!
Md,
You know I only voted once. I made my point. I told you and the rest of this blog that it was time to start Kap 6 games ago. At least we don’t have to see Alex again. He’s done boys! Wheeeeew!
Lol J23 I thought youd like that one. Lol
Well, there’s good & solid, and then there’s insanely great. There IS no qb controversy. We got a new pony and everyone wants a ride! Most of all, the players and coaches of the San Francisco 49ers.
Analyzing 2011 Kaepernick draft day trade:
The Broncos traded the No. 36 overall pick in the 2011 Draft to the Niners for the 45th, 108th and 141st picks. The Niners jumped up nine spots in 2nd round to select Kaepernick.
With 45th pick – Denver selected safety Rahim Moore.
Moore is a starter and has played well. He is tied for 2nd on team with 39 tackles and has 1 interception.
With 108th pick – Denver selected safety Quinton Carter.
Carter is a reserve player and has only 2 tackles and zero interceptions.
151st pick – was traded by Denver to Packers.
GB selected TE D.J. Williams.
Williams is a reserve TE and has 4 receptions for 37 yds with zero TD’s.
With 36th pick Niners select Colin Kaepernick.
You know the story! We got the better of this trade, thank you Denver!
Here’s the CK7 draft pick link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL12_vMrQ7M
Good work Crab. Aldon Smith and Kap in the same draft! Culliver, Miller and Kilgore too. Heck of a draft
Oops. And Hunter.
Domingo – Thanks! Reminds me of the amazing draft that included Ronnie Lott, Carlton Williamson, Eric Wright etc.
The CK7 Project has been iniciated. In my view, it must now be allowed to run its course.
No matter who is going to to start this Sunday, we all know we have two QBs that can get the job done the saints will have their D ready for AS or KC as well is the rest of the league…..
This goes with we were just evaluating Peyton, Alex is all pro-bowl player and Michael Crabtree has the best hands I ever seen. Sounds like a bunch of jive talking turkey globble globble.
Crabs hands ARE the greatest I’ve ever seen!
Crabtree has meaty claws!
Crabs had nothing on my hands. I use to snatch nerfs out of the air with one hand. And juke suckas in the street on my way to a neighborhood td record. I’m am a legend in the old neighborhood. Lol
NinerMD,
I played the sock game as a kid, we used it as baseball, inside my brother’s and I bedroom, we had to dive for the socks after the other one hit it off the closet, I had the best sock hands ever, just a fact
MD – Hilarious……..Our dogs always chewed up our nerfs. A mangled nerf did wicked things in the air. Kind of like a DeMarcus Russell pass.
@ ninermd:
I use to snatch nerfs out of the air with one hand. And juke suckas in the street on my way to a neighborhood td record.
Careful, you are starting to sound like DS.
Lol Neal our bedroom sports as kids was wwf wrestling. We made an intercontinental and heavyweight belt and had my sis be the announcer. Nothing like going top dresser and landing a macho man elbow on my cousins. Lol good times.
Crabs… You said it. I had one that the tip was torn off and spirals were easy to throw, plus it stood up pretty good for the kickoffs and extra points between the gutters of the apts. has that thing till the paint wore off.
And Claude….. Only difference is I’m telling the truth. Lol
Happy thanksgiving men. May it be a drunken hofbrau of excellence.
MD is DS. Been arguing fiercely with himself for about a year now! Lol.
That was cruel bro. lol
Wheeeeeew! Need some ice for the baby makers after that one. LOOOoooow! Lol
A year and a half ago, most 49er fans were wondering when (or if) they would ever get a good quarterback. Today, the 49ers have the 3rd rated QB in the league, and a promising young future superstar. That’s what happens when you get an HC with a background developing QB talent, and a GM that knows the draft.
Speaking of draft, the 2011 draft class is looking pretty dang good. Aldon Smith, Colin Kaepernick, Kendall Hunter, Chris Culliver, Bruce Miller…
@Brodie:
What you said.
By the way, while I was reading your comment, Aldon Smith sacked Jason Campbell again.
That draft class has the potential to be a legendary, “dynasty foundation” type class.
I haven’t paid much attention to Kendall’s blocking ability (pass protection). Is he any good?
So glad we passed on Jake Locker and selected Aldon Smith! Titans took Locker with 8th pick.
Angus – Clearly if you haven’t noticed him, he must be pretty good. Otherwise we’d be pointing at him on blown protections when he’s in there.
Yup, it might rival the ’81 or ’86 draft. If Aldon gets the record and Kaep builds on the promise of his Monday showing into a long, successful career it’ll go down as the greatest one ever.
Hey grant nice going asking that question at the post game presser!!!!
The 49ers defense is giving up, a league best, 13.4 point per game. If that holds up it will be the best since Baltimore in 2006 and yet there is zero ink this week on the defense, apart from a few mentions of Aldon’s sack totals.
I get it: everyone loves to talk about the QBs. It drives click and calls on the radio. But no matter who’s under center on Sunday for the 49ers, they have to run silent counts.
Things are different on the road.
The defensive performance will be more important than it was on Monday. It will be an interesting test for them against a resurgent Saints team and Jason Campbell will not be in the opposing huddle either.
+1
Yes sir.
We will see what CK can do against the Aints. He will have to score out of neccessity. He will not have the luxury of a 0 -27 lead in this game.
Anyway if CK wins I will believe. But I am an Alex Smith believer also. I think this team just needs some one to play not scared and even except a lose in the road to victory.
Grant, do you think CK can keep up with Bree’s.
Saints D is SO inferior to Bears its not even a comparison.
But do you think that CK can keep up with Brees. Brees will score his touchdowns.
Larry,
Our defense has to stop Brees, CK needs to play a solid game, love how he can score in the first couple of drives., something AS could never master.
I think it’s too soon but not by much. The people who run the team have reached the point where they will have to decide over the next two weeks. They drafted Colin in the belief that, with the proper training, he could be elite. Now it looks like the were totally correct. Very, very smart football people. But they are also conservative, so I doubt they have made a final decision. One more good performance should do it. I think he starts against New Orleans, and, if the magic continues, it will be clear he has finally surpassed Alex and should be Number 1. To all of you with loyalty to Alex, please remember that, despite his travails and disappointments, the Forty Niners have made him a rich man and that, although he has greatly improved under these coaches and they system, he is only a good QB, not a great one. With all the pieces on offense this team has, they should not have to struggle in the second half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9eOanoiVcY&feature=youtube_gdata_player colin kapernick introduced by trent baalke.
Got a chance to rewatch the game last night and what is being overlooked is the playcalling of Greg Roman. It was a master piece. CK also did a good job at the line making audibles but the game plan was brilliant and executed well.
I think Kap has all the tools. Now we just need to see him blitzed under pressure and it will tell us if he is the franchise QB. If he can come out of NO showing he can handle different looks from Spagnuolo and the blitzing scheme and pick up the win, then I would say its a QB controversy.
Our offensive and defensive lines dominated the Bears. They are terrible. Not discounting the win, but they are not a playoff team with what they showed Monday night.
I think the play calling was almost the same except CK dialed in on downfield routes and Smith likes to read hots, then check down. I do agree if ck has a monster game against the saints blitz then we have a real controversy. But I think smith starts anyway.
It is the same offense and CK hit some big throws. But I need to see more and the Saints game could provide that. I just dont want this to be the same story as Troy Smith or Matt Flynn who had one good game against bad teams and people think he is the future. This competition between both QB’s is only gonna make our team better.
I totally agree my dude. But I still think smith is starting though
FDM – The Bears are not the same without Cutler. The Bears/Cubbies were fortunate Cutler didn’t play. He may have been crushed by Aldon, ending any hopes for Lovies Cubbies.
CK is going to be a great QB, time will tell with he’s elite. He has all the skills, and he will have plenty of opportunities. Right now the goal is the Super Bowl. And while Smith is not perfect, and I’m not a Smither I’m a Niner Fan, he does give the team the best chance, for now. CK is the secret weapon, he’s still raw and the less tape teams have on him, the less they know how to shut down his strengths and expose his weaknesses. The people in the locker room know that the Niners can be a Great team if they all play up to there level. If plays as the best Game Manager, even if the game is a bit dull, the Niners will be fine. His issue has always been consistency. He beat the same Giant D last year before the Championship game.
Next year is no doubt CK’s year. This year is the tease….
new orleans
well going with AS would be going with the veteran….but what good does it do to have smith get hit hard again and then not have a serviceable backup….
so start CK….gives him a chance to work in a hostile environment learning how to do hand signals etc, etc…..
it is a 50-50 game chance to win supposedly so from a playoff point of view i would start CK just to get him experience…..even in a loss he won’t lose any luster or confidence….AS on the other hand well has grant to worry about
There are a lot of projections based on playing less than two games. I hope Kap is the real deal, but none of us know if he will be.
I think Harbaugh will start Alex if he is healthy, but unless Alex lights it up, Kap will get some playing time. Of course the key is to control the Saints offense by having long drives on offense and to pressure and confuse Brees.
The writing is on the wall. Harbaugh is going with kaepernick. He would not have said “we’ll see” or “tend to go with the hot hand” if Alex is his starter. Like he has done many times before.
While many on here point to Kaep’s inexperience, possible turnovers etc.(you know who you are) Harbaugh completely trusts Kaep, and believes in his ability. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
It’s time to move on. It happens in this business. We all should appreciate what Alex was able to do his last two years with the 49ers. He basically has salvaged his legacy, and is now a valued commodity as an NFL QB. You couldn’t say that before Harbaugh showed up. Alex should go away being forever grateful to Jim Harbaugh